Intel and Alibaba to launch 'game changing' athlete tracking system at Tokyo 2020

By Tom Walker 10 Jan 2019

The technology could revolutionise the way performances are analysed and scrutinised during live broadcasts

US tech giant Intel and Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba are developing an AI-powered athlete-tracking technology which they aim to reveal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Described as a ‘game-changer’ for audience engagement, the technology will combine Intel hardware and Alibaba cloud computing technology.

The tech will use computer vision, combined with advanced pose-modeling techniques and artificial intelligent (AI) "deep learning algorithms", in order to generate a 3D Mesh around athletes – without the use of special sensors or suits.

It means that athletes and their actions can be captured with regular video cameras and their performances tracked and analyzed in a multitude of different ways.

The technology could revolutionise the way performances are analysed and scrutinised during live broadcasts.

As well as its use during broadcasts – providing fans insight into the performances of world-class athletes – the tech will provide athletes and their coaches with new training data and analysis.

“Optimized to run on Alibaba Cloud infrastructure, we developed a novel technology concept called 3D Athlete Tracking that uses AI to analyze video of athletes in ways that are expected to improve both the training process and has the potential to enhance the audience experience during actual competition," said Navin Shenoy, Intel executive vice president.

"This technology has incredible potential as an athlete training tool and is expected to be a game-changer for the way fans experience the Games, creating an entirely new way for broadcasters to analyze, dissect and reexamine highlights during instant replays.”

Chris Tung, CMO of Alibaba Group, added that the innovation has the power to "transform the sports media and broadcasting industries".